Monday’s Russian Papers: Kremlin Castles as in Chess

Depending on the slant of the individual newspaper, the Russian press was mixed in its front-page treatment of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s move to seek the presidency next year, although more than one daily managed to compare the news to castling in chess—a mere switch of Putin’s role with that of current President Dmitry Medvedev.

“The Tandem Has Decided to Castle,” writes the Izvestiya daily, with ownership seen as close to the Kremlin. The Vedomosti daily, often critical of government policies, also refers to “castling” in a front-page editorial. (Vedomosti is part-owned by Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.)

Kommersant, a respected business-focused daily, highlights the likely reshuffling of ministers and other government officials as Putin and Medvedev trade places. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who advocates saving oil windfalls and currently reports to Putin, has already said he won’t seek a role under the new prime minister, highlighting disagreements about the level of planned budgetary spending.